On May 6, the top brass of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) released heavy news that the 19th Asian Games, originally scheduled to be held in Hangzhou, China, from September 10 to 25, 2022, had been forced to be postponed, with the exact date to be announced separately.
In the face of this unexpected situation, Hwang Sun-hong, the head coach of the South Korean U23 national team, gave his opinion on the impact of the postponement of the Asian Games on the South Korean team. He bluntly said that such a sudden change of events makes him feel very difficult. If the Asian Games are postponed to 2023, the KFA will have to re-evaluate the age of the players involved in the competition as well as develop a detailed competition strategy.
With regard to the Asian Games men's soccer tournament, players under the age of 23 are usually allowed to participate, with three additional overage players per team. Whether the age limit for men's soccer will be increased by one year if the Asian Games are postponed to 2023 is yet to be determined. However, the age limit for men's soccer has already been increased by one year at the Tokyo Olympics, which was postponed by one year due to the New Crown outbreak, which may mean the same rule will be adopted for the Hangzhou Asian Games.
The South Korean U23 men's soccer team led by Hwang Sun-hong is scheduled to participate in the U-23 Asian Cup in Uzbekistan in June. The postponement of the Asian Games could have a positive impact on the distribution of players between the adult national team and the U-23 national team.
